Page 52 of My Brutal Alpha

I shrugged, not making too big of a deal out of it despite feeling proud of how it all turned out in the end. "Sebastian got everything started, and I had Ezra's help."

Lydia cocked a curious brow at me to match the interested grin on her lips. "He did, huh? It sounds like someone was far more invested than he initially let on."

Unable to hide my bashful grin, I nodded. There was no doubting that.

While I still felt bad for not telling her everything about Ezra and me sooner, I was at least glad that she knew and that I didn't have to keep anything from her. It made me feel so much lighter.

"I guess we both were and just didn't know how to act on it properly."

Lydia snickered. "Don't worry, most people don't seem to know how. At least, there are usually a lot of hiccups involved. But how has everything been?"

My smile lingered as I added more dishes to the top rack. After checking in on Callie in the next room, she came over to give me a hand to ensure she was still asleep. Luckily, the little one didn’t make a peep. She, too, had been worn out from the busy day.

“Everything’s really good...probably the best it's ever been. We're finally seeing eye to eye, and he seems to be genuinely trying. We still have some progress to make, but overall, he seems different than he used to be.”

Lydia gave me a genuine smile, but the faintest hint of reservation was behind it. "I'm glad to hear it. But...I don't think Sebastian has been handling it all that well. He’s trying not to show it, but he’s been tense.”

I sighed and absently rubbed my forehead, taking a short break from the task as I considered her words. "I was anticipating he wouldn't, but I had hoped he'd prove me wrong..."

She nodded her understanding with an empathetic expression. Unfortunately for her, she was caught in a difficult place of wanting to support both her best friend and her mate. "It's just the idea of one of his best friends sneaking around with his sister and having that bond...it's been a lot for him to try and wrangle. I’ve been telling him to give it a chance and to trust you with this, but I know it's weighing on him.”

A sense of guilt scurried through my system regardless of how I tried to rationalize it all in my mind, and I knew it wasn't the easiest situation to put him in, either.

But still, I just wanted him to understand. I didn't want there to be any tension.

Before I could say anything, I paused, perking up at something in the distance—a faint commotion that became clearer the longer I listened. The sound eventually split into two voices.

We both stopped then as I looked at her curiously. "Do you hear that?"

She focused for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, it sounds like shouting."

Pausing to try and look out the window, hoping to see what was going on, I furrowed my brows but couldn’t find what I was looking for. "Who is that?"

Then, with his perfect timing, Sebastian nearly flew in through the front door, looking furious.

The two of us were immediately caught off-guard, glancing between us before focusing on him. I opened my mouth to speak.

"What the hell—"

"You," Sebastian uttered, pointing at me with his features tight as he stopped a few steps away from me. "Don't think I forgot about you just because I didn’t bring it up yet.”

Concern stitched my features together as I had no choice but to look at him, body tense from his tone. I hadn’t seen that kind of anger in him for quite some time, and I couldn’t help but wonder what triggered it.

"What's going on?"

"How could you do that to me?" Sebastian demanded of me as a pained look crossed his eyes, melding with his anger. His voice dropped only by a touch. "How could you develop feelings for Ezra, even after you messed around with him and broke your heart? How could you do that behind my back?”

I was startled by not only the sudden confrontation but also by the way he looked so genuinely hurt from it all, as if I had done it on purpose, all with the intention of crushing him.

As much as I wanted to speak and defend myself, along with Ezra, I was too stunned.

Lydia forced out a breath and gave him a disappointed look, surely hoping to diffuse the situation to some degree. "Is this really the time or place?"

Sebastian didn't even glance at her—not while his entire focus was on me. "It doesn't take a genius to realize what kind of guy Ezra is...but you entertained it anyway. I expected better from you."

I bristled, bond churning defensively inside my chest. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

He gritted his teeth at me. "You know what I'm talking about. He means well in most cases, but he's not someone to trust with your feelings like that. Even he seems to understand that.”

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